Local directors want to provoke more conversation about new sex work laws

Behind the scenes of Fucking My Way Back Home, with star Freya Ravensbergen.

What do you get when you cross a sex worker looking for redemption and a driver who's staunchly religious? Nope, this isn't a joke; rather, it's the premise behind Fucking My Way Back Home, an indie film currently in production in Toronto.

Funded by an Indiegogo campaign and shooting in just 15 days (the crowdfund and film wrap August 6), directors Shawn and Kathryn Whitney (A Brand New You) want to provoke more conversation about sex work in Canada. We interviewed the husband-wife director team and actor/producer Freya Ravensbergen to talk about the flick and the laws inspiring it.

What is the traditional representation of sex workers? How does reality differ?

Shawn Whitney: Well it tends to be one of two things: either the victimized drug addict or the hooker with a heart of gold.

Kathryn Whitney: We wanted to make another contribution to the conversation. Some women who do this type of work enjoy it.

Freya Ravensbergen: Researching for the movie, I spoke with several [sex workers]...Talking to them, many said they view their work as a form of therapy. It's a lot of just holding people.

KW: One of the characters in the movie has sessions with Freya's character that are just therapeutic. He had had abuse in his past and she helps him cope with it.

What are some challenges you face shooting this film?

KW: Most of the film takes place in a car over one night, so we shoot from dark until 5 am. Also, we are shooting over a 15-day period [due to budget constraints]. It can be stressful.

SW: We were trying so hard to create a fair representation of sex workers that we didn't realize we would be taking on many feminists [by telling this story].

FR: We're indie. We can do whatever we want... [but] getting funding has been hard with this title.

SW: Well, the film's opening is an image of the new laws, much like Xavier Dolan's film Mommy opened with text.

FR: We've been calling the film a sex worker dystopia, as in, this is what could happen with the new laws in place.

What does that dystopia look like? What are your biggest concerns about these laws?

FR: [Sex work] isn't going away. It's like currency. It will always be here. We need to be making it safer. These women and men need our protection.

SW: Censorship poses as helping the vulnerable but it really punishes them... The biggest danger [these laws pose] is criminalization. We need to allow these women their agency.

“This movie won't change anything,” Ravensbergen says, but it “will tell a story we haven't heard before.” And with that telling, she hopes people will discuss the issue: “All that matters is the story.”